This invention relates to stencils for body painting on individuals, and in particular, stencils that can be reused on humans.
Body painting, or sometimes bodypainting, is a form of body art. Unlike tattoo and other forms of body art, body painting is temporary, painted onto the human skin, and lasts for only several hours, or at most in the case of Mehndi or “henna tattoo”) several weeks. Body painting that is limited to the face is known as face painting. Body painting is also referred to as (a form of) “temporary tattoo”; large scale or full-body painting is more commonly referred to as body painting, while smaller or more detailed work is generally referred to as temporary tattoos.
Body stencils exist and are made up of simple patterns formed in a typically flexible but flat substrate. Such are effective for applying a simple, detail form such as a flower or heart, but are not effective for applying a form that follows the contours of a torso or appendage of a subject individual. These forms are typically munch more elaborate and tend to flow from the front of the human torso around the side of the torso and onto the back of the torso.
It is also known to place netting or some other repeating pattern against the body, and paint using the netting as a stencil. Sometimes body netting is donned, then local painting is performed, the netting removed to leave only the repeated patterns. Sports Illustrated's body painting of model Hanna Ferguson was performed in this way. Inspection of the video of the body painting session makes dear that simple towels or other improvised masks were used to control overspray. The netting patterns itself does not provide any overspray protection to the overall pattern to be painted.
Consequently, body painting has generally been limited to the realm of the experienced artist. This is in part because professional air brushes must be used to obtain clearly defined lines, instead of typical cans of body spray paint. Body paint spray exists but because of the significant overspray, does not provide defined delineations between painted and unpainted or other painted (painted with another color) areas. Because precise demarcation between painted and unpainted or other color painted areas is necessary to create readable designs on an epidermal area, spray cans are typically only used. as a background color over which hand painted paints are applied.
Henna based dyes or paintings are utilized to apply various designs to temporarily decorate the epidermis in various cultures, e.g. the Middle Eastern, Indian and North Carican cultures. This is done by applying the paste directly to the epidermis, either free hand or through the use of a stencil. These methods can be difficult to use for the novice. The free hand method takes experience, control, is time consuming and expensive. Stencils can leak and are hard to keep in place.
Mehndi is an art form in which henna based epidermal dye is applied to painting the skin in decorative patterns and has been known for many centuries. This art form is still used primarily in Middle Eastern and Asian cultures before a celebration such as a wedding or a festival. For example, Hindu women have intricate designs applied to their palms and soles of their feet prior to their wedding because, for example, it is believed that the designs enhance fertility and the chance that the young couple will have children. To others, the decorative patterns are aesthetically pleasing and enhances the beauty of the bride. After the henna paste is applied to the skin and allowed to dry, it will painted on the epidermal layer of the skin in direct contrast to a tattoos in which the entire dermis is painted. The epidermis, or outer layer of the skin, naturally sloughs off and takes the Mehndi design with it over time. In effect, the individual has a tattoo that will naturally disappear in one to four weeks depending on a variety of factors. The duration depends on the location of the body to which the painting is applied, the uptake of the paint pigment, and the exposure of the epidermal area to which the paint is applied. For example, the epidermis is thicker on the sole of the foot than on the face, so a Mehndi design that is applied to the sole of the foot will last longer than one that is applied to the face. Further, the Mehndi designs will not last as long when the person having the design constantly washes their hands or other body part, or is exposed to chemicals that remove or dry the epidermis increases sloughing of the skin and correspondingly decreases the duration of the decorative Mehndi painting.
There are a number of undesirable features associated with the application of decorative Mehndi paintings also, as with Western body art. First, having Mehndi and body art applied by a trained artist is costly. Second, the majority of the public does not have the artistic training needed to produce a design and have a satisfying result. Third, if the henna paste comes in contact with any exposed skin, then it will leave a mark, even if left on for a brief period of time. Fourth, if the henna past is not of the correct consistency, it will bleed beyond the line drawn and causing widening or blurring of the line that was intended to be drawn by the person applying the painting. Outside of Mehndi paintings, body art painting has grown in popularity with various marketers of goods and promoters of services, such as grande openings of establishments including bars, casinos, hotels and the like in Eastern Europe, as well as for entertainers and dancers where there are theme parties at various night clubs and other venues. Full body art by a professional is both time consuming and entails expense, and requires expertise.
Exemplary art in the area of body/face painting include: U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,836,998, 5,052,418, 5,816,269, and 5,479,351; and US Patent Publication Nos. 2009/317774, 2006/1211097, 20001/047951, CA2727849, NL1024119, EP1611815. Similar art that is not for parts of the body below the neck art includes: US Patent Publication No. 2006/121097, 2009/120565, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,289,801, Non-analagous art related to suntaning methods and “paint coated body parts” that are used to producing art on surfaces other than the human body, e.g. a human paint brush, includes: DE20215489, DE3420867, WO2005070386, FR2705616, FR27095615, and US Pat Publication No. 2009/317774.
What is needed therefore is a system and method enabling inexperienced artists to apply a standard base color coat to a subject individual on which other patterns and details may optionally be applied so that a very aesthetically pleasing result is obtained.